The present invention relates to pest control, and more particularly, but not exclusively, relates to techniques for sensing, communicating, storing, and evaluating data from networked pest control devices.
The detection and removal of pests from areas occupied by humans, livestock, crops, and other pest-attracting areas has long been a challenge. Pests of frequent concern include various types of insects and rodents. Subterranean termites are a particularly troublesome type of pest with the potential to cause severe damage to wooden structures. Likewise, other insects, such as bedbugs, are problematic. Additionally, rodent control is often challenging. Various schemes have been proposed to eliminate these and certain other harmful pests.
Recently, advances have been made to provide for the targeted delivery of pesticide chemicals only after pests have been detected. One example is the SENTRICON TERMITE COLONY ELIMINATION SYSTEM™ of Dow AgroSciences that has a business address of 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, Ind. In this system, a number of stations are installed in the ground about a dwelling to be protected. A pest control service provider periodically checks the stations, which can be labor-intensive.
Similarly rodent traps in food processing/storage facilities, pharmaceutical production facilities, and the like need to be routinely checked—resulting in significant labor expenditures. Accordingly, there is a demand for alternative pest control device monitoring techniques. Alternatively or additionally, the ability to gather more comprehensive data relating to pest behavior is sought. Thus, there is a continuing demand for further advancement in the area of pest control and related sensing technologies.